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Burns - AP Euro First Semester Paper

Primary Sources vs Secondary Sources


Humanities

Primary Source Secondary Source

DEFINITION:  a document, image, or artifact that provides us with evidence about the past. (Also called a direct source.)

DEFINITION:  A document that contains commentary, interpretation, and/or analysis of a primary source(s).
EX:  the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr,  EX:  an academic journal article analyzing King's speech.

Examples of Primary and Secondary Sources (Science & Humanities)

Primary Sources Secondary Sources
  • Academic journal article of original research
  • Conference Papers
  • Correspondence
  • Dissertations
  • Diaries
  • Interviews
  • Images/Photographs from the time/event
  • Lab Notebooks
  • Notes
  • Patents
  • Proceedings
  • Studies or Surveys
  • Technical Reports
  • Theses
  • Newspaper/magazine articles written soon after event (not historical accounts)
  • Popular magazine articles 
  • Academic journal article
  • Criticism and Interpretation
  • Dictionaries (may be tertiary)
  • Encyclopedias (may be tertiary)
  • Government Policy
  • Public Opinion
  • Reviews
  • Social Policy

adapted from University at Albany Library